Buenos Aires Senate Presses Forward with Judge Appointments Amid Delays Due to Re-elections
Following a divisive debate, the Senate of the Buenos Aires Province approved the appointment of 131 judges, prosecutors, and defenders in a session that did not discuss the return of indefinite reelections for mayors and legislators, a contentious issue within the Justicialist Party.
The senators passed the judicial appointments by majority vote, with the new officials set to serve in various districts across the province. The session, which occurred during the afternoon, saw only the judicial files reaching the chamber presided over by Vice-Governor Verónica Magario.
It was speculated that the legislation concerning the reelections might be addressed in the following week, as a new ordinary session was scheduled for Tuesday. The Kirchnerite senators are advocating for the reinstatement of indefinite reelections for Buenos Aires legislators, municipal councilors, and school board members, but the Kicillofist senators seek to include mayors in the benefit. The Kicillofist faction criticizes their exclusion from the Kirchnerist project as a form of punishment, given many mayors previously supported Governor Axel Kicillof in his internal struggle with the former president and her son.
The session originally scheduled to rehabilitate the indefinite reelections of legislators was suspended last week, and the issue did not progress to be treated during the recent session. There were delays in starting the session due to the lack of the necessary quorum, with 11 senators present at the 3 PM call.
Teresa García, head of the Union for the Homeland bloc and one of the leaders closest to Cristina Kirchner, explained that the Legislative Secretariat was behind schedule in loading the file covers for the order of the day. Opposition sources, however, suggested that the holdup in gathering the number to start the session was due to the internal struggle within the provincial government over reelections. The session eventually commenced past 4 PM, and the entire session consisted of tributes to Pope Francis followed by an uninterrupted reading of each of the 131 file covers for the appointments of judges.
Public backlash and concerns over potential negligence arose, as the case was brought to light regarding Martin Viscovich, a prosecutor named as the prosecutor general of Merlo’s judicial department who intervened in the robbery at Christian Cuno Libarona’s (brother of the current Minister of Justice) house in April 2020. The thieves were subduing people in their homes with weapons, but they were released by Viscovich, who later went into hiding and was never found. Some members of the La Libertad Avanza bloc criticized the appointment, with Florencia Arietto indicating that "many files have a lot of noise."
By Javier Fuego Simondet, Legislature, Province of Buenos Aires
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- The senators' decision to focus solely on the judicial appointments in the current session indicates a delay in the discussion of policy-and-legislation regarding the contentious issue of indefinite reelections for mayors and legislators, a topic that falls under the realm of politics and general news.
- Amidst concerns about potential negligence and public backlash, the publishing of details about the appointments, such as the case of Martin Viscovich, a prosecutor named to a prominent position, becomes crucial in ensuring transparency and integrity, which are key elements in both the policy-and-legislation process and general news reporting.
